Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-08-26
INSURE YOUR LIVES.

xvOOxOG 1VOxS Ia 0ASs
Discourse by the Rev. T. Dewitt Ial-
mage.
Advice to Those Engaged in the Business
| of Insurancc-He Who Fails TO PROVIDE
for His Own Household is Worse than an
Infidel.
The HAMproSs, Aug. 1.-The Rev. II.
De Witt Talmage's sermon for to-day was
on the important subject of "Life ana Fire
| Insurance: the Christian Principles In.
volved." His text was: aLet him appoint
officers over the land, and take up the fifth
part of the land of Egypt in the seven
plenteeus years." Genesis xii. "a.
These were the words of Joseph, the
President of the first life insurance COM
pany that the world ever saw. Pharaoh
| had dream that distracted him. lie
thought he stood on the banks of the River
seven fat, sleek, glossy cows, and they be-
gan to browse in the thick grass. Nothing
friphtful about that. But after them,
coming out of the same river, he saw seven
COWS that were gaunt and starved, and the
worst looking COWS that had ever been seen
in the land, and in the ferocity OF hanger
they devoured their seven fat predecessors.
Pharaoh, the king, sent for Joseph to de-
cipher these midnight hieroglyphios.
Joseph made short work Of it, and init.
mated the seven fat COWS that came out OF
the river are seven years with plenty to eat,
the seven emaciated COWS that followed
them are seven years with nothing to eat.
sNow," said Joseph, "let us take one-ifth
of the corn crop of the seven prosperous
years, and keep it as provision Tor the
seven years in which there shall be no
corn CROP" The king took the counsel
and appointed Joseph, because of his in
tegrity and public spiritedness. as the
President of the undertaking. The farmers
paid one-fifth of their income as premium.
In oil the towns and cities of the land
there were branch houses. This great
Egyptian life insurance company had mill
lions of dollars as assets. After awhile the
lark days came and the whole nation would
live starved if it had not been for the pro-
viion' they had made for the future. But
nov these suffering families had nothing
to % but to go up and collect the amount
of their life policies. The Bible puts it in
one \short phrase: "In all the land of
EgyR there was bread" I say this was
the flint life insurance company. 1t was
divineN organized. 1t had in it all the adj
vantagts of the "whele life plan," of the
"tontin( plan," of the reserved endow-
ment plp," and all the other good plans.
We are told that Rev. DR.. Anhate, of
Lincolnsh hire, England, originated the first
life insurance company in 1893. No! it is
himself vas the author and originator. If
that werl not SO l would not take your
time and mine in Sabbath discussion of
this subject. I feel it is theme vital,
religious. and of infinite import, the morals
of life ard fire insurance.
About ten or twelve years ago there was
great nnic in life insurance which did
good. Under the storm the untrustworthy
and bogus institutions were scattered, while
the genuine were tested and firmly estab-
lished, and where does the life insurance
institution stand to-day? What amount Of
comfort, of education, of moral, and spir-
statistic that in this country the life insur-
ance companies in one year paid $780,
600 to the families of the bereft; and in five
years they paid $300,000,00O to the families
of the bereft; and are promising to pay
and hold themselves in readiness to pay
$4,000, 900, 600 to the families of the bereft
They have actually paid out more in
dividends and death claims than they have
ever received in premiums. 1 know OF
what speak. The life insurance com.
panies of this country paid moro than 81,
100000 Of taxes to the Government in five
years. So, instead of these companies be-
ing indebted to the land, the land is in.
debted to them. To cry out against life
insurance because here and there one COM
pany has behaved badly is rs absurd as i,
would be for man to burn down Loco
acres of harvest field in order to kill the
moles and potato bugs-as preposterous as
man who should blow up a crowded
steamer in nlid-Atlantic for the purpose Of
destroying the barnacles on the bottom oil
the hulk.
But what does the Bible say in regard tc
this subject? If the Bible favors the in.
nounces it, will denounce it. In addition
to the forecast of Joseph in the text, I cal
your attention to Paul's comparison. Here
is one man who, through neglect, fails tc
support his family while he lives, or afte,
he dies. Here is another man, who abhors
the Scriptures and rejects God. Which OF
those men is the worse? Well, YOU saw
the latter. Paul says the former. Paul
says that man who neglects to care fol
his household is more obnoxious than a
man who rejects the Scriptures: "He tina,
provideth not for his own, and especially
those of his own household, is worse than
IN infdel." Life insurance companies
help most of us to provide for our families
after we are gone; but, if We have the
money to pay the premiums and do not pay
them, we have no right to expect mercy at
the hand of God in the Judgment. We
are worse than Tom Paine, worse than
Voltaire, and worse than Shaftesbury.
The Bible declares tive are worse
than IN inidel. After the certif-
cate of death has been made out,
and thirty or sixty days have passed, and
the officer of the life insurance company
comes into the bereft household and paws
down the hard cash on an insurance policy,
that officer of the company is performing
positively religious rite, according to the
Apostle James, who says: "True religion
and undefled before God and the Father
is this: To visit the fatherless and the
widow in their af1liction," and so on. The
religion of Christ proposes to take care of
the temporal wants of the people as we'll
as the spiritual. When Hezekiah was
dying the injunction came to him: "Set
thy house in order, for thou shalt die and
not live" That injunction in our day
would mean: make your will; settle ND
your accounts; make things plain; don't
deceive your heirs with rolls of worthless
mining stock; don't deceive them with
H E